Snapdragon, Tall Double Mix

Snapdragons are an annual native to southwestern Europe and the Mediterranean. The original plants were very tall, 3+ feet, and produced purple flowers exclusively. It is believed that the Romans introduced the plant into Britain. In 1564, Thomas Hyll, and English gardener who penned the first gardening book ever printed in Britain, mentions that snapdragons were perfectly capable of reseeding themselves with little assistance. Snapdragons were popular with Elizabethan gardeners who now could choose from a variety of colors including purple, white, pink, red and yellow. Sometime during the 1600s, the snapdragon was introduced into North America. Joseph Breck in his 1851 book, The Flower Garden, states that, “This is a curious, as well as ornamental, genus of plants, mostly perennials or biennials. The word Antirrhinum (the Latin name for snapdragon) is derived from words in Greek which express ‘similar to a nose.’ The flower bears a perfect resemblance to the snout or nose of some animal; by applying the thumb and finger to the side of the corolla, it opens and shuts, as with a spring.”